Newspaper headlines abound from the summer of 1905 when John Middle Sky made much of his intentions to challenge James Jeffries, the reigning World Heavyweight Champion, to a boxing match. “Yuma Indian, With Pugilistic Ambitions, Shows His Strength and Size in Boston,” reads the Boston Globe headline. “John Middle Sky is in Boston. He is the Yuma Indian, who, a few months ago astonished the people of San Francisco, when he visited that place, and showed his size alongside of Champion Jim Jeffries. The Indian created a favorable impression among the sports who saw him.”

Newspapers across the country talked about Middle Sky’s intention to formally challenge Jeffries once he “thinks he knows enough about boxing.” “Today, a number of newspaper men looked him over and conjectured what he might do in the ring. At first sight it would seem that he never would make a fighter. But when James J. Jeffries first appeared here, some years ago, and was pronounced too big and clumsy, after which he went out and defeated twice over all the best heavyweights in the country, it would hardly do to prohesy [sic.] defeat for John Middle Sky until he has had a trial.”

The fight never happened, and John Middle Sky quickly disappeared from the news, though he briefly reappeared in 1910 when he instead set his sights on World Champion heavyweight wrestler Frank Gotch. This photograph shows Middle Sky next to a man identified verso as Jim Polhamus. We found records of a Jim Polhamus who served as sheriff of Yuma, Arizona in the 1920s, though it is unclear if this is the same individual or not.